Perry Como returns to the homeland and the music of his ancestors via the sublime Perry Como in Italy, recorded in Rome with arranger Nick Perito. Singing in both English and Italian, Como delivers some of the most poignant and thoughtful performances of his career, channeling a melancholy heartbreaking in both scope and depth. Perito’s evocatively nocturnal arrangements further underscore the soul-searching drama of the vocals, and while retaining the subtlety and self-effacing honesty that are the signatures of Como’s craft, the album borders on the operatic in terms of its emotional intensity.